1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to managing hot water delivery, and in particular, to a computer implemented method for managing the delivery of hot water to multiple nodes at selective temperatures.
2. Description of Related Art
Running hot and cold water has been a standard feature of homes and businesses in many parts of the world. Hot water can be provided using several different types of appliances. One of the most common types of hot water appliances is a storage water heater where water is heated and stored in a hot water tank. As a result, a large amount of hot water is quickly available for use as needed. Another type of hot water appliance is a tankless water heater. This heats water on demand rather than storing water, thereby eliminating the cost of keeping a tank of hot water heated at all times. However, it may be difficult for a tankless water heater to heat water as fast as it is demanded as there is no buffer capacity. There are many other relative advantages and disadvantages to these two types of water heaters such as installation cost, maintenance cost, space required, water temperature stability, etc.
There are many other types of water heaters including solar water heaters, point of demand tankless water heaters, heat exchange based water heaters, shared boilers, combination boilers that combine heater water with central heating, etc. Each of these types of water heaters has different advantages and disadvantages relative to other types of water heaters.